In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and 2 tsp. vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini till it is all mixed in. Spread into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake tester tests clean.

Frosting:

6 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/4 Cup Margarine

2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

1/4 Cup Milk

1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

To make the frosting , melt together the 6 Tbsp. of cocoa and margarine: set aside to cool. In a medium bowl blend together the confectioners sugar, milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Recipe From: A Faithful Reader

MAINE PUMPKIN BREAD

"A classic, moist pumpkin bread spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. This bread improves with age, so plan to make it a day ahead if possible."

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 3 loaves or 24 slices.

Recipe From: Laurie Bennett

Hi! Today I have a recipe for you that is perfect for all those extra tomatoes from the garden or for that "reduced price" basket of "seconds" you just could not resist at the farmers stand down the road. This is a fairly basic tomato sauce and is very flexible. At the bottom of the recipe are a few ideas for you to think about in case you would like to adapt the sauce to suit your families tastes (or your own). There are many herbs that pair well with tomato sauce: Basil, oregano, sage, thyme, and tarragon to name a few.

I also found a great (fairly simple) recipe for home made ketchup that I can't wait to try. It calls for an ingredient called Berbere Paste, which I am unfamiliar with. So I'll have to do a bit of investigating. Look for the recipe next week, in this column.

Now I have a question for you. How many of you had a chance to try the recipe for the Ketchup cake? I'd especially love to hear your comments about this cake.

Thank You, and Enjoy! Elaine

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

"Turn a bucket of tomato seconds into a perfect pot of sauce"

This is a flexible recipe because there are about as many ways to make tomato sauce as there are people who make it. None of them are wrong, all will yield a delicious pot of sauce from fresh tomatoes that is nothing like you buy in a jar.

Note: Have a food mill? You can run your tomatoes through them on a fine setting and it will remove both the seeds and the skin. You can then skip the first two steps of these instructions.

Yield: About 4 cups sauce

4 lbs. Sad, unloved Tomatoes (any variety)

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Small Onion

2 to 3 Small Cloves Garlic

1/2 Medium Carrot

1/2 Stalk Celery

1/2 tsp. Salt plus more to taste

Slivers of Fresh Basil (to finish)

Peel tomatoes: Bring a pot of water to boil. Cut a small X at the bottom of each tomato. Blanche the tomatoes in the boiling water for 10 to 30 seconds, then either rinse under cold water or shock in an ice water bath. Peeling the tomatoes should now be a cinch.

Finish preparing tomatoes: If using plum tomatoes, halve each lengthwise. If using beefsteak or another round variety, quarter them. Squeeze the seeds out over a strainer over a bowl and reserve the juices. (You can discard the seeds) Either coarsely chop tomatoes on a cutting board or use a potato masher to do so *when you cook them.

Prepare vegetables: Finely chop onion, and mince carrot, celery and garlic or pulse all four with a food processor to form a paste. Either of these methods work.

Cook sauce: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic until they just start to take on a little color, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer, lowering the heat to medium-low to keep it at a gentle simmer. *If you haven’t chopped them yet, use a potato masher to break them up as you cook them. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally. At 30 minutes, you’ll have a fine pot of tomato sauce, but at 45 minutes, you might just find tomato sauce nirvana: More caramelized flavors, more harmonized texture.

Note: If your sauce seems to be getting thicker than you want it to be, add back the reserved tomato juice as needed. If your sauce is too lumpy for your taste, use an immersion blender to break it down to your desired texture. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste. Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon for 4 pounds of tomatoes. Scatter fresh basil over the pot before serving.

Experiment: There are innumerable ways to tweak your tomato sauce. Some might like a pinch of red pepper flakes cooked with the carrots/celery/garlic and onion in the beginning. Some add them at the end. Some swear by a glug of red wine added with the tomatoes. Others insist that a tablespoon of tomato paste will give your relatively quick-cooked sauce a longer-cooked flavor. Have fun with it.

Keeping it simple: Skip the onion, carrot and celery. Just cook your tomatoes for 30 to 45 minutes and at the end, drizzle in some olive oil or melted butter. If you have time, you can infuse that oil or butter with garlic and basil. Season to taste with salt. Then wonder why you ever added so many ingredients to something so obviously perfect without them.

Recipe From: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

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